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And drench'd conservatory breathes abroad,
In volumes wheeling slow, the vapour dank;
And, purified, rejoices to have lost

It's foul inhabitant. But to assuage

Th' impatient fervour, which it first conceives
Within it's reeking bosom, threat'ning death
To his young hopes, requires discreet delay.
Experience, slow preceptress, teaching oft
The way to glory by miscarriage foul,

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Must prompt him, and admonish how to catch Th' auspicious moment, when the temper'd heat, Friendly to vital motion, may afford

Soft fomentation, and invite the seed.

The seed, selected wisely, plump, and smooth,

And glossy, he commits to pots of size
Diminutive, well fill'd with well prepar'd

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And fruitful soil, that has been treasur'd long, And drank no moisture from the dripping clouds. These on the warm and genial earth, that hides The smoking manure, and o'erspreads it all,

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He places lightly, and, as time subdues
The rage of fermentation, plunges deep
In the soft medium, till they stand immers'd.
Then rise the tender germes, upstarting quick,
And spreading wide their spongy lobes; at first
Pale, wan, and livid; but assuming soon,

If fann'd by balmy and nutritious air,

Strain'd through the friendly mats, a vivid green.
Two leaves produc'd, two rough indented leaves,
Cautious he pinches from the second stalk
A pimple, that portends a future sprout,

And interdicts it's growth. Thence straight succeed
The branches, sturdy to his utmost wish;

Prolific all, and harbingers of more.

The crowded roots demand enlargement now,
And transplantation in an ampler space.
Indulg'd in what they wish, they soon supply

Large foliage, overshad'wing golden flow'rs,

Blown on the summit of th' apparent fruit.

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These have their sexes! and, when summer shines,

The bee transports the fertilizing meal

From flow'r to flow'r, and ev'n the breathing air
Wafts the rich prize to it's appointed use.
Not so when winter scowls. Assistant art
Then acts in nature's office, brings to pass
The glad espousals, and ensures the crop.

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Grudge not ye rich, (since Luxury must have His dainties, and the World's more num'rous half Lives by contriving delicates for you)

Grudge not the cost. Ye little know the cares,
The vigilance, the labour, and the skill,
That day and night are exercis'd, and hang
Upon the ticklish balance of suspense,

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That ye may garnish your profuse regales
With summer fruits brought forth by wintry suns.
Ten thousand dangers lie in wait to thwart

The process. Heat and cold, and wind, and steam,
Moisture and drought, mice, worms, and swarm-

ing flies,

Minute as dust, and numberless, oft work

Dire disappointment, that admits no cure,
And which no care can obviate. It were long,
Too long, to tell th' expedients and the shifts,
Which he that fights a season so severe

Devises, while he guards his tender trust;
And oft at last in vain. The learn'd and wise
Sarcastic would exclaim, and judge the song
Cold as it's theme, and like it's theme the fruit
Of too much labour, worthless when produc'd.

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Who loves a garden loves a greenhouse too. Unconscious of a less propitious clime, There blooms exotic beauty, warm and snug, While the winds whistle, and the snows descend.

The spiry myrtle with unwith'ring leaf

Shines there, and flourishes. The golden boast

Of Portugal and western India there,

The ruddier orange, and the paler lime,

Peep through their polish'd foliage at the storm,

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And seem to smile at what they need not fear.
Th' amomum there with intermingling flow'rs

And cherries hangs her twigs. Geranium boasts Her crimson honours, and the spangled beau, Ficoides, glitters bright the winter long.

All plants, of ev'ry leaf, that can endure

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The winter's frown, if screen'd from his shrewd bite,
Live there, and prosper. Those Ausonia claims,
Levantine regions these; th' Azores send

Their jessamine, her jessamine remote
Caffraia: foreigners from many lands,

They form one social shade, as if conven'd
By magic summons of the Orphean lyre.
Yet just arrangement, rarely brought to pass

But by a master's hand, disposing well

The gay diversities of leaf and flow'r,

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Must lend it's aid t' illustrate all their charms,

And dress the regular yet various scene.

Plant behind plant aspiring, in the van

The dwarfish, in the rear retir'd, but still

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